Gauge for accurately measuring precipitation

• US 6,044,699 A
• Filed: 12/17/1997
• Issued: 04/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Belfort Instrument Company
• Original Assignee: Belfort Instrument Company
• Inventors: Mang, Steven, Greenblatt, Clifford Lee, Stuart Dalby, Mellissa Jamie
• Primary Examiner(s): Noori, Max
• Assistant Examiner(s): AW MUSSE, ABDULLAHI H
• Application Number:
  US08/992,248
• Time in Patent Office: 839 Days
• Field of Search: 73/170.17, 73/170.18, 73/170.19, 73/170.21, 73/700, 73/704
• US Class Current: 73/170.17
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/20 by measurement of weight, e.g. to determine the level of stored liquefied gas
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 17/04 for weighing fluids, e.g. gases, pastes
• CPC Class Codes: G01W 1/14 Rainfall or precipitation gauges measuring volume in general G01F

Abstract

A precipitation gauge that collects liquid and frozen precipitation in a reservoir, suspended by force-sensing transducers, permitting the accurate and precise measurement of accumulated precipitation. A proportionally-heated collector assembly prevents the accumulation of frozen rain or snow on the collector inner surface, converting it into water that enters the reservoir, with minimum electrical energy consumption. The force-sensing transducer may be a programmably excited vibrating strip transducer.

Claims

1. A gauge for measuring the liquid equivalent of all forms of natural precipitation comprising:

a support structure;

a precipitation reservoir;

a collector assembly fixedly mounted to said support structure above said reservoir and continuously depending into an open upper end of said reservoir;

means for suspending said reservoir from said structure and for weighing said reservoir; and

electronic control means, cooperating with said means for suspending and weighing, for converting measurement of the weight of said reservoir to accumulated precipitation.

2. The gauge of claim 1 wherein said means for suspending and for weighing comprises force transducer means.

3. The gauge of claim 2 wherein said force transducer means comprises strip force sensing transducer means.

4. The gauge of claim 3 wherein said strip force transducer means comprises vibrating strip force sensing transducer means.

5. The gauge of claim 4 wherein said electronic control means further comprises means for providing programmable excitation energy to said transducer means.

6. The gauge of claim 5 wherein said means for providing excitation energy produces vibration of sufficient amplitude to assure accurate transducer output signal quality.

7. The gauge of claim 6 wherein said excitation energy means produces sufficient vibration amplitude under widely varying load conditions.

8. The gauge of claim 7 wherein said force transducing means includes at least three vibrating strip force sensing transducers.

13. The gauge of claim 1 additionally including reservoir weight calibration means.

14. The gauge of claim 1 wherein said electronic control means includes means for converting measurement of the weight of said reservoir to incrementally accumulated precipitation.

9. A gauge for measuring the liquid equivalent of all forms of natural precipitation comprising:

a support structure;

a precipitation reservoir;

a collector assembly fixedly mounted to said support structure above said reservoir and continuously depending into an open upper end of said reservoir;

means for suspending said reservoir from said structure and for weighing said reservoir; and

electronic control means, cooperating with said means for suspending and weighing, for converting measurement of the weight of said reservoir to accumulated precipitation;

wherein said collector assembly includes heating means.

10. The gauge of claim 9 wherein said heating means comprises a plurality of independently heated means.

11. The gauge of claim 10 wherein each said independently heated means is under the control of said electronic control means.

12. The gauge of claim 11 wherein said electronic control means includes means for proportionally distributing electrical energy so as to maintain each independent heating means at an above-freezing temperature.

15. A precipitation measuring gauge comprising:

support means;

a precipitation container; and

means for suspending said container from said support means, said suspension means comprising force-sensing transducer means connected between the support means and the precipitation container for producing an electric output signal proportional to the weight of precipitation collected in the container; and

electronic control means, cooperating with said transducer means for producing an electric output signal, for converting said output signal to a measurement of accumulated precipitation.

16. The gauge of claim 15 wherein said force transducing means comprises at least one strip force sensing transducers.

17. The gauge of claim 16 wherein said strip force sensing transducer is vibrating during operation.

18. The gauge of claim 16 additionally including electronic control means for converting the output signal of the transducer means to a measurement of accumulated precipitation.

19. The gauge of claim 18 wherein said electronic control means includes temperature compensating means.

20. In a gauge for measuring both liquid and frozen precipitation comprising a reservoir for receiving such precipitation from which accumulated precipitation is measured and a collector assembly including a collector surface, the improvement comprising:

means for suspending said reservoir, comprising transducer means for measuring the weight of said reservoir;

electronic control means, cooperating with said transducer means, for converting measurement of the weight of said reservoir to accumulated precipitation; and

heating means for proportionally controlling the temperature of regions of said collector surface to produce a temperature in substantially all portions of the collector surface that is not substantially above freezing.